ABSTRACT

The bacterialogical quality of Kunun-zaki sold in some locations in Umuahia metropolis was investigated. Ten samples were collected from five different locations in Umuahia. Total heterotrophic count, coliform counts, Salmonella-shigella counts and Staphylococcus aureus counts, isolation and characterization of isolates in the sample were done. The result reveals that kunu 6 from Research  institute has the highest heterotrophic count of 6.9 x106 cfu/ml while kunu 2 from Gate six has the lowest heterotrophic count of 3.9x106 cfu/ml.  Kunu 5 from Research  institute has the highest coliform count of  1.8x106cfu/ml while kunu 4 from Isi gate has the lowest coliform count of 7.2x105cfu/ml. For Staphylococcus count, Kunu 5 from Research institute has the highest count of 7.2x105cfu/ml while kunu 2 from Gate six has the lowest count of 5.1x105cfu/ml. For salmonella-shigella count, kunu 4 from Isi gate has the highest count of 4.4x105cfu/ml while kunu 2 from Gate six has the lowest count 2.2x106 cfu/ml. These counts are above the acceptable standards when compared with microbiological criteria for non-bottled drinks that was published by the centre for food safety, food and environmental hygiene department whose limits are E. coli (<100cfu/ml), Salmonella spp.  (non detected in 25ml) and Staphylococcus aureus (<100cfu/ml). Bacterial identification revealed the presence of E. coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Citrobacter spp, Lactobacillus spp and Klebsiella spp. The high bacterial load of these organisms could be a matter of serious concern as these organisms are of public health importance.